Funny Books With Bite

Poetry for children comes in many different forms.

Poetry classics for children, Fairy tales from Mother Goose, Dr. Seuss books, and a variety of poetry anthologies written specifically with children in mind.

The list below is a compilation of the top poetry collections for children, and poetry award winners for children dating back to 1993.


Popular Poetry Collections for Children

This list of popular poetry collections for children was compiled from a variety of online sources. These are the top 10 poetry anthologies suitable for children of all ages. Share the magic and wonder of poetry with the children in your life.

If anything sounds interesting, just copy and paste the title into the Amazon search box at the bottom of the page for more information.


  • The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky and Arnold Lobel
  • The Bug in Teacher's Coffee: And Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos and Mike Reed
  • poetry books for children

  • Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems from WritersCorps by Bill Aguado and Richard Newirth
  • The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury by Jack Prelutsky and Meilo So
  • Poetry Speaks to Children by Elise Paschen, Dominique Raccah, Wendy Rasmussen, and Judy Love
  • For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone by Jack Prelutsky and Marjorie Priceman
  • The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr., Michael R. Sampson, and Eric Carle
  • The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems by Donald Hall
  • Here's A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry by Jane Yolen, Andrew Fusek Peters, and Polly Dunbar
  • Poetry for Young People: Edgar Allan Poe by Brod Bagert and Carolynn Cobleigh

Poetry Award Winners for Children

The Hopkins Award is an award presented for the best poetry collections for children, published in the United States. Each year a recipient is selected to receive the honor for his or her contribution to poetry for children ranging from ages 0 to 14.

The 2010 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for children's poetry is Button Up by Alice Schertle. Past poetry winners include...



poetry books for children

  • 2010- Button Up by Alice Schertle
  • 2009- Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
  • 2008- Birmingham, 1963 by Carole Boston Weatherford
  • 2007- Jazz by Walter Dean Myers
  • 2006- Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems by Joyce Sidman
  • 2005- Here in Harlem by Walter Dean Myers
  • 2004- The Wishing Bone and Other Poems by Stephen Mitchell
  • 2003- Splash! Poems of Our Watery World by Constance Levy
  • 2002- Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines



poetry books for children

poetry books for children

  • 2001- Light-Gathering Poems by Liz Rosenberg
  • 2000- What Have You Lost? by Naomi Shihab Nye
  • 1999- The Other Side by Angela Johnson
  • 1998- The Great Frog Race and Other Poems by Kristine O'Connell George
  • 1997- Voices from the Wild by David Bouchard
  • 1996- Dance With Me by Barbara Juster Esbensen
  • 1995- Beast Feast by Douglas Florian
  • 1994- Spirit Walker by Nancy Wood
  • 1993- Sing to the Sun by Ashley Bryan


Check out more great childrens books



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